1 Psychology 320: Gender Psychology Lecture 35. 2 Announcement This month is sexual assault...

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Psychology 320: Gender Psychology

Lecture 35

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Announcement

This month is sexual assault awareness month at UBC. Among the events that are scheduled for the month are the following:

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Theatrical Performance - DissolveThursday, January 21, 7pm with Q&A to follow. 6361 University Boulevard, UBC.Cost: $5.00 deposit, to be returned at performanceTickets: SASC, Access & Diversity and Main Booth in the SUB during Arts Week.

Allies Unite! Community Rally and March4pm to 6pm, Tuesday, January 26. SUB, 6138 Student Union Boulevard, UBC.A rally and march around campus, followed with refreshments.

Tough Guys: Sexual Violence, Media, and the Crisis in MasculinityPublic Lecture by Jackson Katz, PhD.6pm, Thursday, January 28.Hebb Theatre, Hebb Building, 2045 East Mall, UBC

Student Workshop with Jackson Katz, PhD."Taking It Personally: Why Gender Violence is an Issue for Men"10am to Noon, Friday, January 29, 2010Rm 100, Neville Scarfe 2125 Main Mall, UBC

For more information email: saam.ubc@gmail.com

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Romantic Relationships:

1. What characteristics do females and males desire in a mate?

2. Are there sex differences in the experience of love?

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What characteristics do females and males desire in a mate?

Personal Ads: Women seeking men

Educated, attractive, creative SWF, 29, 5’5” 120 lbs, long brown hair, seeks articulate SWPM, 29-39, 6”+, gentleman, higher education (Doctorate/Master’s a must), who enjoys politics, arts, medicine, and has sense of humour. Multilingual a plus.

SF, 5’3”, 135 lbs, blond/brown, enjoys reading, music, concerts, hanging out with friends. Seeking SM, with good work ethic, but can also be romantic, spontaneous, for LTR.

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Personal Ads: Men seeking women

SM, 29, 6’1”, 190 lbs, enjoys all outdoor athletic activities, stimulating conversation. Seeking well-built lady, 30-40, with sense of humour. Redheads a plus.

Seeking attractive, down-to-earth, emotionally well-adjusted SF, late 20s-30s, independent not disinterested, sense of humour. Me: attractive, tall, fit, educated (master’s) employed, condo/car-owning SM, 32.

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• Research suggests that females are more likely than males to emphasize resource potential, whereas

males are more likely than females to emphasize physical attractiveness:

Effect sizes (Feingold, 1990, 1992):

Socioeconomic status: d = -.69.

Ambition: d = -.67.

Physical attractiveness: d = +.54.

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• Notably, these effect sizes are influenced by the type of relationship (e.g., short-term vs. long-term

relationship) that one is seeking and the degree of gender equality within one’s culture.

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• Explanations for sex differences in importance of resource potential and physical attractiveness:

1. Evolutionary explanation: Emphasizes sex differences in minimal parental investment.

2. Social role explanation: Emphasizes division of labour between males and females in traditional societies.

3. Social construction explanation: Emphasizes social norms regarding desirable characteristics.

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• Although sex differences consistently emerge with respect to the importance of resource potential and physical attractiveness, research indicates that these characteristics are relatively unimportant to both sexes:

Hatfield and Sprecher, 1995

Assessed mate preferences among individuals in Japan, Russia, and the US.

In all cultures, found that both sexes valued “internal” attributes (e.g., kind, expressive) more than

“external” attributes (e.g., physically attractive, potential for success).

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Mate Preferences Among Males and Females in Japan, Russia, and the US

(Hatfield & Sprecher, 1995)

* Significant difference.

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• Moreover, research suggests that both sexes are attracted to individuals who possess attributes similar to their own.

Thus, research supports the “similarity-attraction” hypothesis (vs. the “reproductive-potentials-attraction” hypothesis or “opposite-attraction” hypothesis) for both sexes.

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Are there sex differences in the experience of love?

• Several theories of love have been proposed by psychologists. Among these theories are:

1. Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love

Maintains that there are three components associated with love: passion, commitment, and intimacy.

Identifies 8 types of love based on the presence or absence of these components.

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Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love (Sternberg, 1986, 1997)

Passion

Intimacy

Commitment

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Sternberg’s Taxonomy of Kinds of Love (1986)

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Romantic Relationships:

1. What characteristics do females and males desire in a mate?

2. Are there sex differences in the experience of love?